Metallic receptacle and closure therefor



Aug. 4, 1936. H. R. HAWGOOD 2,049,906

METALLIC RECEPTAGLE AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed July 9, 1954 INVENTOR. m

"" ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 4, 1936 METALLIC RECEPTACLE AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Harvey R. Hawgood, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Cornell Securities Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application July 9, 1934, Serial No. 734,303

5 Claims. (01.220-61) My invention is an improvement in metallic receptacles and closures therefor, and relates to receptacles equipped with closures of the full removable type, and more particularly to means 5 for removably securing such a closure in place upon the receptacle.

One of the objects of my invention is to increase the ease with which a full removable cover may be applied to or removed from a metallic l receptacle such as a drum.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple rack and pinion-like means for connecting the ends of a split closing ring whereby the ring can be expanded or contracted when lit the pinion is operated.

Another object of the invention consists in providing closing means of the above named character in which the pinion is mounted eccentric to its normal axis of rotation, whereby the 20 operating forces imparted to the rack may gradually be reduced in rotating the pinion from one extreme position to its other extreme position.

A further object of this invention consists in simplifying the construction of closing means for a locking ring of the above named character tion and operation of the device. v

A still further object of the invention consists in providing a device of the above named char- 30 acter which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which is durable in use. o

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become more apparent as the following description of an embodiment thereof progresses, 5 reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters are employed to designate like parts throughout the same.

In the drawing:-

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a closing ring embodying my invention in use;

Figure 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 2- -2 of Figure 1 and shows the manner in which the converging walls of the ring engage the cover flange and the head of the drum to press the same together when the ring is contracted;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a device embodying my invention and shows the end of the locking ring in closed or ring contracting position with the operating pinion rotated I to one of its extreme limits of rotation;

4 Figure 4 is a view similar to that shown in Figure 3 except that the ring is shown in open or expanded position aswhen the ring is exat the same time increasing the ease of applica-- panded in removing it or applying it to a covered drum; and- Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5--5 of Figure 4.

Although my invention particularly pertains 5 i I to metallic containers or receptacles, such as barrels or drums, which are provided with a circumferential bead at their open end for receiving and supporting a flanged cover and fo reinforcing purposes, it is to be understood that I do not limit the invention in this respect and that the same may be applied to other types of receptacles or containers.

I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing one embodiment of my invention and have shown the same applied to a metallic shipping drum I, the upper edge of which is rolled to form a peripheral head 2 at its open end. A cover 3 comprising a cupped member having a peripheral upwardly and outwardly extending flange 4, is supported by the bead 2 and the packing 5 in such a manner that the cupped portion of the cover may be telescoped for a short distance within the open end of the container,

as illustrated in Figure 2. It will be noted that 5 a portion of the flange 4 is slightly arcuate in cross section to conform with the approximate curvature of the upper surface of the bead, and that the outer edge of the flange terminates at a point near that defined by the greatest outside diameter of the bead. The packing 5 may consist o f--.an annulus of any suitable packing material such-as rubber or cork; I find cork to be very satisfactory in use.

l 'n 't lie production and use of open end containers of the present type, it is desirable that the cover be removably secured on the receptacle in such a manner that a fluid-tight seal between theu cover, the packing and the bead may be madewith ease, and with my invention such a 40 seal between these parts is readily and effectively accomplished, as will be shown from a further descriptionof the embodiment of my invention shown inthe drawing.

According to the present invention, one simple means for removably securing the cover on' the receptacle in fluid tight relation therewith may include a'split, channeled clamping ring 6 which substantially U-shaped 'in'cross section and is capable of being'expanded and contracted by suitable operating means. The upper and lower flanges or walls of the cross-sectionally U-shaped clamping ring which constitutes the cover flange and bead engaging walls thereof, converge out- 55 wardly toward the arched portion of the ring as indicated more clearly in Figure 2.

This embodiment of my invention discloses a type of ring which is contracted to clamp the cover into fluid-tight sealed relation with the drum, and is expanded to remove the ring and the cover from the drum, but it is to be understood that the invention disclosed herein may equally well be applied to a ring which is expanded to press the cover into sealed relation with the open end of the drum. The contractible, channeled clamping ring 6 is substantially U-shaped in cross section and is split transversely, preferably at one point as indicated in' Figure 1. Lugs 7 and 8 extend inwardly from the ring ends defining the split and may be formed integrally with the ring ends or be formed separately and welded thereto.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing I will proceed to describe more in detail the construction and operation of the embodiment illustrated therein and in particular the ring contracting and expanding means.

The lug 8 carried by one end of the split ring is preferably formed as indicated in Figure 5, that is, it is substantially U-shaped in cross section to permit the rack extension of lug 1 to operate between the spaced walls 9 and I9 thereof. The walls 9 and I0 furthermore provide a suitable housing for the rack and the pinion II and also serve as a guide for the rack in preventing vertical distortion of the ring end during the closing or opening movement, and provide means for maintaining the rack and pinion in proper meshing relation.

According to my invention I have provided a simple mechanism for expanding and contracting the ring which consists essentially of a rack and a lever operated pinion-like member meshing with the teeth of the rack. While the pinion member II is preferably eccentrically mounted as at I2 between the upper and lower walls 9 and In of the lug 8, it may be concentrically mounted. The pin or shaft I2 may be of any suitable construction such as is shown in Figure 5. An operating lever I3 is preferably formed integral with the pinion I I and also operates between the walls 9 and ill of the lug 8 in its movement from the ring expanded position such as indicated in Figure 4 to the other extreme or ring contracted position such as is illustrated in Figure 3.

The rack I4 is preferably formed integral with the lug I and constitutes an extension thereof, operating between the walls 9 and I of the lug 8. It will be noted the teeth ii of the rack are arranged in a curved series and readily mesh with the teeth of the pinion-like end of the lever l3 throughout its limit of movement in either direction. An important advantage of an eccentrically mounted pinion is that at the beginning of the ring contracting stroke of the lever (the position shown in Figure 4), the longer radii b and c of the pinion constitute lever arms similar to a bell crank relative to the operating lever l3, and as the lever I 3 is moved to the ring closing position shown in Figure 3 the teeth l5 of the pinion end of the lever roll along the curved rack l4 toward the left hand end of the same. As this end of the rack isapproached the effective radii of the pinion successively delivering power applied through the lever l3 are decreased in length until the shortest radius a: is brought into play as shown in Figure 3. Thus the power applied manually through the lever l3 in moving it from extreme open ring to extreme closed ring tion and which is very inexpensive to manuposition, is transmitted through the pinion end of the lever to the rack through a variable leverage rack and pinion connection, with the result that at all times during this operation the lever ratio acts as a means to compensate the initial manual 5 forces applied to the lever l3 by the operator to the gradually increasing resistance to the closing of the ring to sealing position.

In the types of rings heretofore used employing link and lever or other operating connections for contracting the rings to seal the cover in place, the initial manual force applied to contract the ring is less than subsequent forces required to fully contract the ring. In fact, as the fully contracted condition of the ring is approached in these prior devices considerable manual eifort must be applied to the lever, and often it requires great strength on the part of the person operating the lever to successfully fully contract the ring.

But by my invention, I have aimed to reduce 20 the effort required to expand or contract the ring to seal the cover on a receptacle, so that the manual forces applied to the'lever are applied through a variable leverage connection.

In Figure 4, the deformed portion 29 acts as a stop to limit the movement of the lever [3 in ring expanding position and further to prevent accidental displacement of the rack end from its operating position between the walls 9 and I0 of the lug 8. 30

In Figure 3 the end 2| of the rack also acts as a stop to limit the movement of the lever 13 in the opposite direction.

From the above it will readily be seen that by my invention I have made a considerable im-, provement in the art, in that by means of an extremely simple construction, the forces applied to the lever l3 in closing the ring may be distributed throughout the entire movement of the lever from one extreme position to the other, thus eliminating the need for applying excessive manual forces as the ring approaches its fully contractedposition to seal a cover on the drum.

Furthermore, this invention provides a rigid, durable device which is smooth and easy of operafaeture.

While I have shown but one embodiment it will be understood that various other modifications are contemplated by my invention as herein disclosed. For instance, while it is preferred to mount the pinion H eccentrically according to the embodiment shown in the drawing, the same may be mounted to operate on its true axis and the curved rack may describe a true arc. Furthermore, the member H may be formed in other regular or irregular peripheral shapes and the rack likewise may have a contour for proper rolling contact with the selected shape of the member H. For example, the member ll may 60 present a spiral or involute spiral driving contour and, of course, the rack may be accordingly modified.

Various changes in the details of constructions and arrangement of parts may be made without 65 departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a clamping device for a receptacle having an open end and a cover for the open end, a split 7 clamping ring to press the cover upon the open end of the receptacle when the ring is contracted, and means for contracting or expanding the ring including a curved rack carried adjacent one end of the split ring, a pinion eccentrically carried 7 having a head around cover having a flange fitting over the head, of a adjacent the other end thereof and meshing with said rack, and-a lever for rotating said pinion along said rack.

2. The combination with a metallic receptacle having a bead around the top thereof, and a cover having a flange fitting over the head, of a split locking ring to press the same together. lugs extending inwardly from the ends of the ring, and means for contracting and expanding said ring, said means including a curved rack carried by one of the lugs, a toothed segment eccentricaily pivoted to said other lug, and means iorrotating said segment about its pivot.

3. The-combination with a metallic receptacle the top thereof, and a cover. having a flange fitting over the head, of a split locking ring to press the same together, lugs extending inwardly from the ends of the ring, and means for contracting and expanding said ring, said means including an arcuate rack carried by one of said lugs, and bridging said ring ends, a toothed member rotatable about an axis eccentric to its true axis and engaging said rack in power driving relation, and means for rotating said rotatable member in either direction.

4. The combination with a metallic receptacle having a bead around the top thereof. and a split locking ring to press the same together, lugs extending inwardly from the ends of the ring, and means for contracting and expanding said ring, said means including an arcuate rack carried by one of said lugs, said other lug being formed with an opening to receive and guide said rack. a toothed segment eccentrically rotatable in said opening oi said other lug and engaging said rack in power driving relation, and means for rotating said segment.

5. The combination with a metallic receptacle having a bead around the top thereof, and a cover having a flange fitting over the head, of a splitlocking ring to press the same together, lugs extending inwardly from the ends of the ring, and means for contracting and expanding said ring, said means including an arcuate rack carried by one'oi said lugs, and bridging said ring ends, a toothed member rotatable about an axis 20 eccentric to its true axis and engaging said rack in power driving relation, and means for rotating said rotatable mem er in either direction, the

rotation of said member in one direction being limited by said rack.

HARVEY R. HAWGOOD. 

